Pitcher, Pittsburgh
Pirates
Age: 32
7th season
with Pirates
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’8” Weight: 155
Prior to 1960:
A native of
Stephentown, New York, Elroy Face played baseball at Averill Park High School
and was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies following a two-year Army stint.
The 21-year-old hurler was initially assigned to the Bradford Blue Wings of the
Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (or PONY) League in 1949 where he was primarily a
starting pitcher and produced a 14-2 record and 3.32 ERA with 9 complete games,
one shutout, and 65 strikeouts over 141 innings pitched. Returning to Bradford
in 1950 he compiled an 18-5 tally and 2.58 ERA. Left exposed in the offseason
draft, he was taken by the Brooklyn Dodgers and sent to Pueblo of the Class A
Western League in 1951 where he went 23-9 with a 2.78 ERA and 171 strikeouts
over 265 innings. Earning promotion to the Fort Worth Cats of the Class AA
Texas League in 1952, Face produced a 14-11 record and 2.83 ERA. In 1953 Face
was obtained by Pirates to be part of GM Branch Rickey’s youth movement. He
spent 1953 with Pittsburgh and proved he was not yet a well-rounded pitcher,
appearing in 41 games, 13 of them starts, and recording a 6-8 tally and
dreadful 6.58 ERA with two complete games and 56 strikeouts over 119 innings.
At this point he possessed a fastball and curve that he threw as hard as he
could for as long as possible with clearly unimpressive results. What succeeded
for him in the minor leagues thus far didn’t produce success at the major
league level. Sent down to the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class AA Southern
Association in 1954 with the assignment to develop an off-speed pitch, he
instead developed a forkball, which he learned from observing veteran reliever
Joe Page with the Pirates the previous year. Converted into a primary reliever
during the season by New Orleans manager Danny Murtaugh, who would go on to
manage the Pirates, Face’s record was 12-11 in 40 appearances (15 in relief)
with a 4.45 ERA and 120 strikeouts over 192 innings. Returning to Pittsburgh in
1955, he worked primarily out of the bullpen and made 42 appearances as part of
an improving pitching staff and had a 5-7 tally and 3.58 ERA with 5 saves and
84 strikeouts over 125.2 innings as he mastered the unpredictable forkball,
which was as hard to pitch as it was to hit. In 1956 he led the NL in pitching
appearances with 68 that produced a 12-13 record and 3.52 ERA with 4 saves, 34
games finished, and 96 strikeouts over 135.1 innings. Face continued his
development as a top reliever in 1957, making 59 appearances and posting a 4-6
tally and 10 saves with a 3.07 ERA, 32 games finished, and 53 strikeouts over
93.2 innings. In 1958 he led the NL in saves with 20 while appearing in 57
games and going 5-2 with a 2.89 ERA and 47 strikeouts over 84 innings. Face
went on to have a sensational season in 1959 in which he produced an 18-1
record for a superlative .947 winning percentage along with 10 saves, 69
strikeouts over 57 appearances comprising 93.1 innings. His only loss ended a
22-game winning streak which extended back to the previous season. He was an
All-Star for the first time and he finished seventh in league MVP voting.
1960 Season Summary
Appeared in 68
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 68 [1]
Games Started –
0
Games Finished
– 61 [1]
Complete Games
– 0
Wins – 10
Losses – 8
PCT - .556 [15,
tied with Mike McCormick]
Saves – 24 [2]
Shutouts – 0
Innings Pitched
– 114.2
Hits –
Runs – 39
Earned Runs – 37
Home Runs – 11
Bases on Balls
– 29
Strikeouts – 72
ERA – 2.90
[Non-qualifying]
Hit Batters – 0
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 2
League-leading
games pitched were +3 ahead of runner-up Lindy McDaniel
League-leading
games finished were +11 ahead of runner-up Dick Farrell
Midseason
Snapshot: 5-4, G – 38, ERA - 2.79, SV – 13, SO - 31 in 58 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 6 (in 2.2 IP) at San Francisco 8/31
10+ strikeout
games – 0
Batting
PA – 19, AB –
17, R – 3, H – 7, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 4, SB – 0, CS –
0, AVG - .412, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 2, SF – 0
Fielding
Chances – 33
Put Outs – 12
Assists – 21
Errors – 0
DP – 1
Pct. - 1.000
Postseason Pitching: G – 4 (World Series vs. NY Yankees)
GS – 0, CG – 0,
Record – 0-0, PCT – .000, ERA – 5.23, SV – 3, ShO – 0, IP – 10.1, H – 9, R – 6,
ER – 6, HR – 2, BB – 2, SO – 4, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Awards & Honors:
All-Star
12th
in NL MVP voting (47 points – 14% share)
---
The Pirates went 95-59 to win the NL pennant by 7 games over the Milwaukee Braves for their first pennant since 1927. The pitching staff led the NL in fewest walks surrendered (386). The Pirates moved into first place on May 29 and held off all challengers for the rest of the way. They won the World Series over the New York Yankees, 4 games to 3, capped by Bill Mazeroski’s Game 7 walk-off home run. Face saved Pittsburgh wins in Games 1, 4, and 5.
Aftermath of 1960:
The Pirates dropped off in 1961 and Face, although still an All-Star, had a somewhat lesser season while still leading the NL in saves (17) and games finished (47) while pitching in 62 games and producing a 3.82 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 92 innings. Occasionally prone to giving up the long ball, he surrendered 12 home runs and in a late-season incident he was fined $200 by manager Danny Murtaugh for “carelessness” after being directed to intentionally walk a batter and allowing one of his pitches to come to near to the strike zone which resulted in a bunt single. 1962 was a much better season for Face as he received Fireman of the Year recognition from The Sporting News for leading the NL with 28 saves and games finished (57) while appearing in 63 games and compiling a 1.88 ERA with 45 strikeouts over 91 innings. Face dropped off in 1963 to a 3-9 tally and 16 saves while appearing in 56 games with a 3.23 ERA, 38 games finished, and 41 strikeouts over 69.2 innings. While the steady 36-year-old reliever appeared in 55 games in 1964, he produced only a 3-3 record and 4 saves with a 5.20 ERA. A knee injury that required surgery limited Face to 16 appearances and no saves in 1965. He returned in 1966 and appeared in 54 games out of the bullpen for the contending Pirates, producing a 6-6 tally and 18 saves with a 2.70 ERA and 67 strikeouts over 70 innings. With the bullpen a strong suit for the Pirates, Face performed well once again in 1967, recording 61 appearances and coming through with a 7-5 record and 17 saves with a 2.42 ERA. With the streaky Pirates in 1968 he pitched in 43 games and went 2-4 with 13 saves until he was dealt to the pennant-bound Detroit Tigers for the last month of the season. He made only two appearances for the Tigers while the starters put together complete games in half of the month’s games and added no saves or decisions. Released during spring training in 1969, Face joined the expansion Montreal Expos and, at age 41, was part of an effective bullpen tandem with LHP Dan McGinn, appearing in 44 games and compiling a 4-2 record with 5 saves, a 3.94 ERA, and 27 games finished prior to his release in August. He pitched in 8 games in 1970 with the Hawaii Islanders of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League before retiring at age 42. For his major league career, spent almost entirely with the Pirates, he pitched in 848 games and produced a 104-95 record with 191 saves, a 3.48 ERA, 574 games finished, and 877 strikeouts over 1375 innings. The 1960 World Series marked his only postseason action. A six-time All-Star, Face is a member of the Pirates Hall of Fame. Following his baseball career he became a full-time carpenter and died in 2026 at age 97. The diminutive pitcher with the outstanding forkball, who recorded almost all of his saves prior to that statistic becoming official, helped to set the stage for the modern bullpen closers that have followed.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.